Wed by Hand supports Fertile Future!

Amazing vendors, informative and modern workshops and more are only a taste of what you’ll find at this year’s Wed by Hand. Above all, Wed by Hand is especially awesome because it supports unique, interesting and innovative local causes too! This year we’re happy to announce that our charity is Fertile Future.

Who are they and why do they exist?
Fertile Future is a Canadian national non-profit organization that provides fertility preservation information and support services to cancer patients and oncology professionals. Each year, an estimated 10,000 young Canadians face a cancer diagnosis. Approximately 8,000 of them will win this battle. Without knowing the importance of fertility preservation prior to their treatment, many are left infertile with few options. Fertile Future aspires to change this reality for cancer patients. Our mission is to inform, educate and support cancer patients who are facing fertility-risking medical treatment and oncology professionals who are providing this care.

What do they strive to do?
- Increase public awareness about fertility and cancer related issues
- Educate cancer patients about their fertility preservation options prior to cancer treatments
- Enable the medical community about when and how to inform patients about their fertility
- Raise awareness of key issues across Canada

If you’re a bride-to-be looking to give back and support this wonderful charity, remember to stop by the Raffle Table at the show. Our wonderful vendors will be donating gifts that will be raffled off at the end of the show. You could win a gift AND support a cause, what a great way to support a local charity! Winners will be contacted via their contact information and all the money raised will go directly to Fertile Future. Tickets will be $3 for 1 and $5 for 2. Stop by and meet Caitlin from Fertile Future at Wed by Hand on February 11th at the Glebe Community Centre from 11AM to 5PM.

If you would like to contact Fertile Future or if you’re interested in reading about their programs, please visit their website for more information.

How To Tuesday: Attend Wed by Hand

We are gearing up for Wed by Hand this weekend and can't wait to share the show this year with you.
An wedding show is the best place to find inspiration, ideas, learn tips and tricks and meet connections to create your own magical day.

What to bring: 
A camera
Mini sketchbook
Pens
Card holder
A list of questions to ask vendors

It can be overwhelming to plan your wedding and at Wed by Hand we want to show you that it really is not so hard and that it can be so much fun with the help of a few others with knowhow.

So bring along your best friend, family member or spouse to be and make the most of Wed by Hand by taking part in some of the great workshops we have to offer and getting some great ideas.

Can't wait to see you there!

Meet Our Vendors: The Tasting Room!

This year at Wed By Hand, we're debuting something new and completely fabulous: a tasting room! The Wed By Hand will feature local, artisan and DIY options for your wedding day--all from really fantastic companies! What's even better? You get to sample food from all of these companies right at the show--for free! With your admission to the show, you'll not only get to meet these vendors but also taste their delectable goodies. It'll be a truly scrumptious destination at the show on Saturday! A preview of the companies that will be there:

Auntie Loo Weddings

With a Bachelor of Science in Animal Behaviour, Miss Kate of Auntie Loo Weddings never thought she would end up making and decorating wedding cakes. After a few unlucky turns and some fortuitous sugar flower classes and after having taught herself the basics, Miss Kate is now running the wedding cake department of Ottawa’s unique egg, dairy, and gluten free bakery. Drawing on colour swatches, fabrics, themes, and images, Miss Kate works closely with couples to create unique and custom cakes. Emphasis on unique, because as a rule, Kate says “I never duplicate my own or other peoples’ work. I think every cake should be as individual as the couple.” This means that even traditional or simple wedding cakes should be different and certainly unique to the couple; Miss Kate encourages couples to go for designs that are special to them.

DAVIDsTEA
In the past few years, signature cocktails and dessert bars have become all the rage in the wedding world. If you're looking for a different way to add a unique splash to your wedding, adding a tea bar might be the way for you to go. DAVIDsTEA will be on hand at Wed By Hand to teach you how to create a DIY Tea Bar and let you sample some of their delicious teas. Yum!

Honey Pie Hives & Herbals

Hailing from Prince Edward County, Honey Pie Hives & Herbals, combines beeswax and propolis with organic herbs to make natural and healthful products. The small farm-based business offers small jars of honey and bars of soap, delightfully adorned with hand-drawn labels, inspired by vintage labels and catalogues, as wedding favors. They also offer gift baskets for members of the wedding party. With years of experience making favors, “many people choose our little jars of honey since it has so much romantic appeal – a natural sweet made from the nectar of flowers, it is the essence of love itself.” 

The Candy Store
Hoping to put together a gorgeous candy bar for your wedding but not sure how to do it? The folks from Ottawa's The Candy Store will be on hand with a lovely display and will teach you how to DIY your own candy bar. You'll learn how to create a feast for your guests' eyes and tummies on your wedding day!

Carolina's Box of Goodness

Does the idea of Brazilian family recipes paired with traditional French baking techniques get your mouth watering? Carolina’s Box of Goodness cooks up handmade artisan brownies and custom celebration and wedding cakes for special events. What sets them apart? They “use only the finest ingredients, such as premium Belgian chocolate, Grade AA Canadian butter, Ontario eggs and Madagascar bourbon vanilla, and everything is baked entirely from scratch. The cakes and brownies are also always handmade and baked to order – this means that each order suits the individual client, while ensuring freshness. Unique recipes and the use of local ingredients and packaging in order to support the community remain close to heart at Carolina’s.

Sweet! Cupcakes

Feeling like you need a playful dose of luxury in your wedding? Look no further – that’s exactly what Sweet! aims to bring to your wedding. The Rockland based online business specializes in cupcakes, mini cupcakes, and cake pops. In order to ensure complete customer satisfaction, Sweet! provides consultations while building a relationship with customers, handcrafting every single aspect of their products. Everything can be customized, flavors, colors, and garnishes, so that your perfect wedding vision comes together. The flavors are bold and rich, importing their own products from places like Belgium and Hawaii, while also using local produce and basing flavors on what is seasonally available.

Morsel Desserts

With a lifetime of experience baking with her mother, grandmother, and other women of her extended family, it was a no brainer for Robin Coull to make a career of it. And so, Morsel was born. The homemade dessert line features gorgeous cupcakes, with recipes that change with the seasons, perfect for your memorable occasions. Continuously grateful to be part of the happiest day in a couple’s life, Robin Coull can’t help but smile throughout the entire process. Inspired by fellow bakers and recipes collected from many countries travelled, her best advice is not to “over complicate things, the main thing you want your wedding to be is fun for you and your guests.”

Havana Cafe & Catering
Havana Cafe, a wonderful Cuban cafe in Old Ottawa South, offers catering for those who want a little spicy flair. The fusion of traditional flavours with the artistic presentation of the plates here at Havana have a create authentic dining experience. Oslaide Guerra, the owner and chef, has over 15 years in the food and hospitality industry will delight your taste buds with his passion for cooking. If you're looking for something fresh, unique and deliciously refined, you will definitely want to stop by their table in the tasting room on Saturday!

Welcome to Food Week!

We've saved the best for last for you, ladies and gents. Welcome to Food Week on the Wed By Hand blog! I don't know about the rest of you, but when it comes to planning a big event or even a small get together, picking out food options is always my favorite part of planning.

This year at Wed By Hand we're rolling out a new feature: a Tasting Room! We're so excited to introduce you to 10 small local companies who are here to help you create a really awesome experience for your wedding guests through food. From vegan cakes to a tea bar to cuban food--you'll be able to sample a ton of delectable food from people who truly care about what you put in your tummy! It's going to be such a fun part of the show this year--and it's free with your show admission!

This week we'll be sharing all sorts of ways you can customize your food with local options. It's going to be a tasty week!

Meet Our Vendors: Wedding Planners!

Jane Eaton “I Do” … Green!
Planning a fabulously unforgettable wedding can be a lot of work. It’s a delicate balancing act of needs and requests while trying to fit in as much of what’s near and dear to you and your partner. For many couples, that includes the environment. While “I Do”… Green! does provide their professional event planning services for events of all sizes and types, the focus is on environmentally friendly weddings. While planning her own wedding in 2009, Jane Eaton found a gap in the options and information available to the eco-conscious bride. 

Using innovative ideas, imaginative tools and professional and caring support, Jane Eaton can “help you decrease the carbon footprint on your big day without compromising your personal style or budget”. And her biggest tips to the DIY bride? That “its still important to have a coordinator for the day of, you should be celebrating the special day with friends and family – let someone else worry about the logistics.”

Kennedy Events
Kennedy Events will join Wed By Hand for the first time this year. Specializing in both wedding planning & event design, Kennedy Event's mission is to "establish personal connections with our clients, allowing us to better interpret and execute their unique wedding vision."

Kennedy Events' primary goal is to exceed their clients’ expectations while offering support through the planning process with innovative concepts and flawless execution. Kennedy Events has designed our planning services to be as comprehensive as possible, allowing the client to be involved with the planning as little or as much as they wish. As a bonus, the crew from Kennedy Events will be featuring design ideas that are easy to reproduce for our DIY-ers as well as planning strategies!

Welcome to the Wed By Hand Blog!

Hello there! Welcome to Wed By Hand's brand new blog! I'm Krista, co-founder and co-producer of Wed By Hand, Ottawa's Indie Wedding Show. If Wed By Hand is new to your vocabulary, let me tell you a bit about the show: We are a DIY, handmade and eco-friendly themed wedding show. We are one of only 5 indie wedding shows in North America, and 2012 will mark the third edition of our show. Over the past three years, we have grown leaps and bounds. We started in 2010 with just 16 vendors, paired with another wedding show. In 2011, we struck out on our own and expanded the show, moving it to bigger and better digs. Our show now includes over 35 vendors, DIY workshops, tastings and more!

As we've grown over the past three years, we've not only expanded our show, but we've also expanded our team. This year we've welcomed 6 new members to the Wed By Hand crew who will be helping us grow and expand to show to include some new and exciting things this year. We can't wait to introduce you to the team, and to also share the new surprises we have in store with you. In the meantime, though, I'd like to let you know what this blog is all about!

We wanted a place to share what it takes to put on a show like this, and to showcase all the awesome vendors and wedding/craft professionals that we get to work with. We also wanted a place to share wedding and DIY inspiration. So consider this your one-stop-shop for not only getting the scoop on what's going to happen at Wed By Hand, but also to get some awesome ideas for how you can truly personalize your wedding.

Each week we'll feature a different theme which will match all of the most important facets of your wedding--from photography to accessories to food & more! We kick off this week with photography, one of the most important investments you'll make when it comes to your wedding day. Each day will feature a different column, giving you tons of ideas and inspiration each weekday!

We're so excited to share all of our wonderful ideas with you, and can't wait for Wed By Hand on February 11, 2012! Stay tuned! So much exciting stuff in store!